1. DOJ Raids Gibson Guitars looking for Illegal Wood

2. The Horserace for August 25, 2011

3. Obama’s Job-Killing NLRB Strikes Again! ALL Employers Must Post Union Notices

4. Heritage Action’s Legislative Scorecard

1. DOJ Raids Gibson Guitars looking for Illegal Wood

The Department of Justice is under fire for taking the bold step of sending armed agents into the factories of Gibson Guitar in Nashville and Memphis to seize what it believes to be illegal wood.Via press release from Gibson:”The Federal Department of Justice in Washington, D.C. has suggested that the use of wood from India that is not finished by Indian workers is illegal, not because of U.S. law, but because it is the Justice Department’s interpretation of a law in India. (If the same wood from the same tree was finished by Indian workers, the material would be legal.) This action was taken without the support and consent of the government in India.”Unbelievably enough, this was not the first time that the Gibson factories have been raided for this same reason.Please click here for the rest of the post.

2. The Horserace for August 25, 2011

Polls suggest it is “put up or shut up” time for Sarah Palin on whether she’ll run for President or, if not, assume the role of Kingmaker — and her endorsement will have power.Rick Perry has vaulted into the lead nationally, but I still have qualms with really calling him the front runner.Michele Bachmann is fading.Jon Huntsman is beclowning himself.And then there are the hangers on. We’ll get into it all in this week’s horserace.Please click here for the rest of the post.

3. Obama’s Job-Killing NLRB Strikes Again! ALL Employers Must Post Union Notices

When the National Association of Manufacturers polled around 1,000 of its members in July about the National Labor Relations Board’s case to shut down Boeing’s South Carolina plant, costing up to 5,000 potential jobs, the clear majority indicated the union-backed case likely will, or has already, had a negative effect on America’s job creation. . . .Despite this, however, Barack Obama’s union appointees at the National Labor Relations Board are continuing their assault on America’s job creators with yet another attempt at doing union bosses’ bidding by skirting Congress to require all employers covered by the National Labor Relations Act to post union notices in the workplace to advise employees of their ability to unionize their company.Please click here for the rest of the post.

4. Heritage Action’s Legislative Scorecard

Well, the first comprehensive conservative report card of Congress is out, and we can now determine which members of the “Tea Party Congress” drink a hardcore brew.Today, Heritage Action for America released their legislative scorecard for the pre-recess 1st session of the 112th Congress. Unlike most other scorecards, this one was designed to separate the men from the boys. Most traditional scorecards, and most prominently, the ACU annual report, tend to focus primarily on those votes which fundamentally divide the two parties. They fail to probe some of the more courageous conservative votes against party leadership.To that end, any Republican who is even minimally conservative is expected to score at or near 100%. After all, at a minimum, any Republican should oppose Obamacare, vote down tax increases, and support the Republican annual budget. This is how the likes of McCain, Graham, and Chambliss have been able to achieve stellar scores. Except for those like Olympia Snowe, Susan Collins, and Dick Lugar, most Republicans will vote with their party on the final roll call of major bills. In fact, anyone who is not on the list of 100% is someone who has voted with the Democrats in contravention to fundamental Republican values. A perfect ACU score should be the floor, not the ceiling, for a conservative voting record.The Heritage Action scorecard digs much deeper.Please click here for the rest of the post.